Host for a Night
by twilit angel
Summary: As a special favor to Queen Minnie, Arun, Caelum, and Max are tasked with running Mickey's club, the House of Mouse, for a single night. The three boys, along with their new friend, Shiro, are put to the challenge as they deal with the multiple problems that occur throughout the night. Can the four keep the show going or will they be forced to call for curtain?
1. Chapter 1

Long ago when the worlds were separated to their current states darkness remained a threat to the survivors. It threatened to take the lights of the people they had tried so hard to protect. Realizing the threat the darkness posed, what remained of the light crafted a special road that connected all the worlds to a place of safety and peace. This place was unable to be touched by the darkness and remained a safe haven for those who needed a respite from the dangers that lay outside their worlds.

Years later, this place prospered as people built homes and businesses to create a world made to give a moment of peace for all who wished it. It grew from a small town to a large city that was home to many who did not know of the darkness' threat upon the worlds.

Arun was unsure of what to make of this legend that was told to him by Queen Minnie Mouse of Disney Castle. A place that was completely untouched by the Heartless was almost hard to believe. He learned the hard way that no world was safe when he and his friends lost their world nearly a year before. How could such a place exist?

But, there he was, proven wrong, as he and his companions walked down a city sidewalk after they had walked the special road from Disney Town an hour before to arrive at a city he had never seen or heard of before.

"Remind me again why we're here?" Arun asked Max. The knight led the way down the busy street as he knew the route to their destination.

"Because we're doing a favor for Queen Minnie that you couldn't refuse," said Caelum with the roll of his eyes.

"Oh, like you could say no to her!"

"I don't think anyone could refuse Queen Minnie," Max chuckled.

"True."

Arun had quite the soft spot for the young mouse queen, so he found himself on an errand for her.

The three adventurers found themselves in the supposed safe haven for the light after Queen Minnie called them while in between worlds. She requested for them to return to Disney Castle in order to talk to them. They were already near Disney Town anyway, so they set course for Max's home world. Once there, they went to speak with the queen in the library where she normally was signing documents.

Queen Minnie was happy to see them as always, giving them a pleasant smile. She wasted no time in telling them the reason why she called for them. There was a place between worlds where her husband, Mickey, and Donald co-owned a nightclub, of all places. The temporary manager and host running the club had gotten sick along with several other employees and they couldn't get replacements on such short notice. Because of that, she wanted Arun, Caelum, and Max to run the club for one night. She said she had a feeling something terrible would happen so she needed people who were strong enough to handle themselves in any situation to watch over the club for that night. Arun found the whole idea of running a club amusing and accepted.

And now here they were, making their way around the city to find the night club.

Being the first time he had seen a large city before, Arun took in the sights of the skyscrapers and all the people. No matter where he looked there were hordes of people hurrying home. They sky was an orange that began to set off in the horizon. They had just arrived in the city so they had not been walking for long. It was no wonder people were going home as their work already ended for the day. The three's work was just about to start.

So enraptured with the sights, Arun didn't notice Max and Caelum came to a halt until he bumped into Max's back. He caught his balance before he fell over.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" Arun grumbled, annoyed there had been no warning.

"Because we're here." Max waved a hand to their location.

Arun saw they had stopped on the corner of a busy intersection. Cars sped fast down the road as soon as the traffic lights permitted them. Civilians crossed the street safely to the beeps of the crosswalk. All in all, it was hectic. But, it was not the intersection that was interesting. It was the building on the corner of the busy street.

Blue eyes stared up in awe of the fancy building before them. It was nothing like a nightclub like Arun originally imagined it looked more like a five-star restaurant than a club with its red carpet and clear glass doors that revealed a tastefully done lobby. Above was a single sign that surely blared bright like a beacon during the night. On it was the name of the club.

_House of Mouse._

"Welcome to the House of Mouse," Max announced with a grin to his two stunned friends.

"This is the place Queen Minnie wants us to run for a single night?" Caelum questioned in place of Arun, who still tried to recover.

"Yup! This is where I work part-time during the summer." Max told them on the way there he worked as a valet so he knew the place rather well. He began to make his way to the entrance when he saw someone standing at the door. "Hm? Who are you?"

At Max's inquiry Arun snapped out of his daze. He lowered his gaze to the front entrance to see a teenage boy about Caelum's age with dark green hair where the spiky tips barely brushed against his chin. His hair almost appeared black were it not for the bright lights around them. He had his face almost pressed to the glass of the door. Light blue clips that resembled ice kept his bangs from his indigo eyes where they searched everything inside. His lips moved as he quietly spoke to himself. The three approached the teen and they heard what he said.

"Did he go in here? I could have sworn he went this way."

"Um, excuse me?" Arun asked. His voice startled the teen. "Is there something wrong? The club's not open yet."

An unsettling feeling overcame Arun as the boy stared at him with wide eyes. Arun brushed his bangs back from where they feel in his eyes nervously. Why was the boy staring at him like that?

"Ven?" the boy uttered. His hand twitched as if he wanted to lift it, but thought better.

"Huh?" Arun frowned. Did that boy just call him Ven? It was better than being called Roxas, yet he had a feeling that name sounded familiar. "Sorry, that's not my name. It's Arun."

The boy silently kept staring at him like he was making certain of something. Then, he gave a silent sigh.

"Oh. You're not him." He sounded disappointed from his tone. The next second, though, a smile brightened up. "Sorry about that. I'm Shiro. Nice to meet you, Arun! And your friends are…?"

"Uh, I'm Caelum," greeted the mage, taken back by the sudden sunny attitude. "This is Max. Why are you looking inside the club, Shiro? Was there something you needed?"

"Ah, kind of. I saw someone suspicious standing in front of this place," Shiro replied. He stared up at the club sign. "I was just passing by when I heard him say, 'Well, no one's here to get in my way of shuttin' this place down!' I don't know what he meant by that, but he disappeared before I could ask what he meant. I thought he must have gone in here."

"Shut down the House of Mouse?" Max frowned. "I guess that's what Queen Minnie meant when she said she had a feeling someone strong needed to look after the club tonight."

"Well, we're the ones in charge for tonight, so we should be fine," Arun reassured Max. "Queen Minnie said that everything's already planned for tonight and all we need to do is make sure nothing goes wrong."

"It's because we're in charge that I get the feeling everything is going to go wrong," Caelum sighed, already sounding tired.

"What do you mean by that?" Shiro asked, head tilted in curiosity.

"With us anything that can go wrong will go wrong," Max answered, running a hand through his short hair. "We have the worst luck in the world, yet we always make it out all right."

"Wow, it sounds like you guys never catch a break, huh?"

"Yeah. I really hope nothing goes wrong tonight."

"Hm…Well, if you want, maybe I can help you guys out for tonight?" Shiro offered. "I don't know how much help I can be, but I get the feeling that guy I saw is going to make a lot of trouble for you."

Arun thought for a moment. If what Shiro said was true, then the person he saw might cause enough trouble for them. He had the feeling Shiro was sincere in his intentions to help.

"Yeah, you can help us," he agreed. "We'll probably need all the help we can get to keep this place running."

"Thanks! I'll do my best!" Shiro chirped, enthusiastically.

Nodding, Arun made his way into the club with his companions and new friend in tow. As they entered the club to find out what needed to be done for the night, they never saw the eyes that followed them, promising to make this night harder for them.

* * *

XXX

* * *

**So, yeah. New _Heart and Soul _special in honor of my and my friend, Sox's, birthday! My birthday was on June 6 (as many people know) and Sox's birthday was on June 9. I promised to do a story that was a present for the both of us so here you go! I always wanted to do a story about Arun, Caelum, and Max working in the House of Mouse so here's my perfect chance! This story can take place at any time in my story so I'll try not to involve future references to my own story. Also, Shiro does not belong to me. He belongs to the wonderful Soxirh Megs, who has helped me time and time again figuring out ideas for _Heart and Soul!_**

**As a birthday gift please review and tell me which Disney characters you want to see come to the House of Mouse!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Arun, Caelum, Max, and Shiro made checks for that night's club opening up until it was time to open the doors. The four were not alone in running the club as there was a full staff on board to help the four, save for the manager/host, stage manager, head waiter, and the reservation clerk. They already got the message that they would fill the jobs for the missing workers for that night while they were sick. At first, they were skeptical about a bunch of teenagers being in charge. Their fears were laid to rest, however, when they saw how well they were worked in their respective jobs.

The four separated into different jobs in order to help out around the club with four of the heads missing. Caelum would work as the stage manager to keep to the show's schedule, Max would work as the reservation clerk (they tried to get him to work as head waiter but he swore he would _never_ do that job again), and Arun and Shiro had the special honor of being co-hosts of the show since the two were performers. They learned Shiro worked in a theater troupe before, so being a host was an ideal job. The two decided they would switch being on stage in between showing cartoons. When they weren't on stage they would help out wherever they could.

Being the first time they were in charge of a big business, the four were full of nervous energy-especially Arun and Shiro as they were going to be on stage. Max knew what to do, so he was the only one out of them who was the least nervous. This energy built until it was finally time to open the club.

Arun paced nervously around the backstage area as he glanced at the clock by the stage wing. It was already time for Shiro to open the front doors and begin greeting the early guests. He had fifteen minutes until he had to be onstage to the start the show in order for most of the guests to be seated. As the first to go on, he was nervous. He didn't have time to prepare what he was going to say. He wasn't even sure if he had a very good stage presence. What was he going to say? All he had to do was tell the guests about the night's entertainment and show some cartoons, but that was boring! No one would listen to him like that.

_Who knew I could get like this over how people see me?_ Arun chuckled. Normally, he didn't care how people saw him. Whether good or bad, he relished in the attention people gave him. At least they acknowledged his existence. Now he was too nervous to remember that. What was wrong with him?

"Arun?"

Caelum's voice snapped him out of his frantic thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder to where the younger boy stood by the stage entrance. Arun paused when he saw the mage wore a white button up shirt with a grey tie. His black jacket had not a wrinkle out of place as his hair was slick back for all to see his eyes. A headset rested on his head. Caelum lifted his eyes from the clipboard in his hands to study Arun.

"Is that what you're going to wear?" Caelum asked.

"What, is something wrong with it?" Arun peered down at himself. For the night they all decided to dress in semi-casual clothes so they appeared professional. He switched his street clothes for a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and matching black slacks. He had on a black vest that a partially hid his black and white checkered tie. He looked good, if he said so himself.

"It looks fine," Caelum reluctantly admitted. "But, do you really need the sleeves rolled up like that?"

"It feels more comfortable. Plus, I've got more important things to worry about than my clothes."

"You mean the fact you're going to be onstage for everyone to see you crash and burn?" Caelum half-smirked at Arun's flinch. "Again, I don't envy you at all. I'd hate to be in front of all those people unprepared."

"How do you know I'm not prepared?" Arun shot back, already on the defensive.

"You're pacing around like an idiot. And, you only paced when you're not ready. Remember your oral book report three years ago? You didn't even read the book and just made stuff up. And the funny part was you still got a failing grade when the story you told seemed real."

"If this is an attempt to psyche me out it's working," Arun snapped. He was already nervous enough. Why was Caelum making it worse?

"Sorry, that wasn't my intention." Caelum slid down the headset to run a hand through his hair. "I know you're nervous, but you shouldn't be. You're not much of a people person and you suck at talking sometimes-"

"Gee, thanks," Arun muttered. Was that supposed to be encouraging?

"But," Caelum continued like Arun hadn't spoken, "you've got a certain charm to you that draws people's attention to you. Just act like how you usually do around girls and you should be fine."

"Charm? What charm?"

"You know, when people just warm up to you despite how you have a bad attitude? That charm. The girls back home loved you when you just acted like a typical and stereotypical bad boy in those romance novels they read. I don't know how they see something like that as attractive, but for you it works."

Arun looked at him, dubious. Caelum certainly didn't blame him. In the past all they ever did to one another was try to insult and tear away at each other's insecurities. The fact he was encouraging him was something neither were used to. But, because of what they'd been through lately, it was easy to do so. If they didn't, their lives were forfeit against the Heartless. The only ones they could trust were one another.

"Alright, if you say so," Arun decided after a long while.

"Good. Better use that charm now because it's show time."

"What? It is?" He whirled around to see fifteen minutes had passed. Caelum didn't think cheering up his friend would take that long. However, their conversations usually lasted a long time when all they did was insult each other before getting down to business. Arun ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, boy. Okay, Arun. You can do this. Just smile and be the charming guy you apparently are."

"That's the spirit," Caelum encouraged. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder and steered him towards the stage wing. Then, he shoved him towards the very edge of the curtains where the stage was. "Now, get out there and be a good host! Don't screw up!"

He retreated back past the curtain away. There was an old saying Arun used to tell him back when he started performing on stages. If he were in the stage wing and could see the audience, then they could see him. So, he made sure to stay back enough to watch Arun but not the audience.

Arun made his way towards the stage, stopping at the very edge. The stage was dark at the moment. But, then a drum roll began.

"In his debut as House of Mouse host," said the House of Mouse announcer, Mike the microphone, "he puts the 'charming' in Prince Charming! Here's Arun!"

Caelum honestly didn't expect much when he sent Arun onto the stage. He knew the other boy was nervous to go announce what would happen for that night's show. He expected Arun to stutter as he tried to figure out how to phrase everything. Arun was always more of an action kind of guy, so he had trouble improvising words and speeches.

He really hadn't expected his performance on the House of Mouse stage.

At the sound of his name Arun practically ran onto the stage. Caelum had to stifle a laugh. He must have been really nervous. On his way out he shifted his balance so Arun slid across the glossy stage where he came to a halt at the lit spotlight. He faced the crowd that Caelum could not see with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, everyone!" he greeted. He made a show of examining the crowd. "Wow, would you look at that? We got a full house here! And I'm not talking about my luck at Poker. My luck's not _that_ good. Against those fellows over there, they'd probably win in no time!"

Caelum thought that was the corniest thing he could have ever said. From the way the table of card soldiers that Caelum knew was there laughed along with a few other people, what he said was fine.

"Anyway," Arun continued after the laughter died, "we've got an awesome show line up for you folks tonight. A few cartoons featuring Mickey and his friends-Yes, I know. Such a shame I'm not in any cartoons." A few people laughed and said, "Aw!" in disappointment. All Arun did was wink at that. "And you folks are in for a treat! Because tonight's musical guests are O'Malley and the Alleycats! But, for now let's watch some cartoons. Hit it!"

At Arun's command the projection of a cartoon began to play on the screen. From the look of it, it was a cartoon featuring Pluto getting the paper. While the audience clapped, Arun retreated back to the stage wing where Caelum awaited. Once out of the spotlight, Arun heaved a sigh.

"Wow, that was nerve wracking," he sighed in relief. He bent his top half to grasp his knees, hunched over. "That was worse than any talent show I've ever performed in."

"That's because you're usually prepared," Caelum commented, amused. He was one of the few people who saw this side of Arun. Past the cool, cocky bad boy, Arun was just like any other human being. He could get nervous and worried like any other person. He just hid it behind an arrogant attitude like he normally did. "You just went in there with no reference on how to do it. I almost thought you'd freeze up on stage."

"You really just said all of that on the top of your head? Impressive."

Caelum glanced to the side and scowled when he saw Shiro. The teen stood close by with a grin, amused with Arun's behavior. Arun straightened himself out to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, I normally don't just go out there unprepared. I'm not much of an improviser when I give speeches or stuff like that," Arun mentioned.

"No, I get it. In the theater troupe I was in we had to stick to the script," Shiro replied. "Whenever unexpected things happened on stage, which was on a daily basis, we'd have to improvise our speech and actions. One screw up and the whole play is ruined."

"That's interesting and all," Caelum cut in before the two could exchange stage disaster stories, "but Shiro, why aren't you helping out in the kitchen? Aren't you supposed to be helping them take orders?"

"Hm? Oh, I was, but Max needed your help with something. He said it was urgent so he sent me to come get you."

"Help? With what?"

"Dunno. But, when he told me to get you some pirate guy was threatening him."

"We're having trouble already?" Arun questioned, incredulous.

Caelum wanted to curse at their luck. The show hadn't even started yet and they were already running into problems. He resisted the urge and groaned instead.

"Alright. I'll come." Caelum handed Arun the clipboard with the show's schedule and the walkie-talkie to the sound booth. "I'm going to go help Max. Stay here and make sure nothing happens while the cartoon's running."

Arun nodded. He accepted the items without arguing and turned his attention to the stage playing the cartoon.

Caelum followed Shiro out the back path to the entrance lobby. He adjusted the volume on his headset to a lower number to concentrate better on the problem. All the while his thoughts analyzed the boy before him.

While Arun readily trusted the green-haired boy, Caelum had his doubts. They almost knew nothing about Shiro except for the fact he was from a different world and he was a performer. That made him all the more suspicious as some of the best liars were actors. Caelum would trust Shiro for now since they needed the help. But, if Shiro gave him a reason so, Caelum would kill him. He was sick of liars.

They entered the lobby to be greeted by quite the sight. A line of guests in all shape and size stood in front of the lobby desk. Max was behind it, flustered, as a man dressed in a red outfit waved a hook where his left hand should have been in the teen's face.

"Now listen here, ye scurvy bilge rat," growled the man in a sophisticated accent. "We made these reservations a week ago! And now you're telling me you have no record of us doing so?"

"I-I'm sorry, Captain Hook. But, there really isn't a reservation under your name," Max stuttered. He leaned back, gulping nervously when the hook was too close for comfort. "We're experiencing some technical difficulties, so I'm sure your reservations are there! If you'll just wait-"

"_Wait?_ You expect _me_ to _wait?_ I will not stand here a second longer! In fact I should make ye walk the plank for wasting a second of my time! Smee!"

"Yes, cap'n?" The small, stouter man in a blue and white striped shirt snapped to attention at his side.

"Ready the plank! That wretched crocodile will be fed tonight!"

Caelum heard enough. Max didn't seem to like the idea of being crocodile food as he paled at the thought. He stepped forward to interview before anyone was fed to aquatic reptile.

"What's going on here?" Caelum demanded. He walked forward to stand at the desk, Shiro on his heels. The white-haired teen held his head high before the terrifying pirate (for that was what he was), meeting his gaze. For now his hatred towards pirates subsided to allow him to conduct proper business. "Is there a problem, Mr…?"

"Captain Hook, and you'd best remember it, boy!" Captain Hook sniffed importantly and fired his fancy red feathered hat. "Are you part of the staff at this establishment?"

"The temporary stage manager, yes. But, I am fit to help you. Now, what is the problem?"

"This boy says there was no reservation but two days ago and now nothing! I have half a mind to send him to the bottom of the ocean for this treachery!"

"There's no need for that," Caelum hastily answered. "Captain, I will personally deal with this issue. As an apology you will be seated immediately and given a free appetizer platter of your choice. Shiro, can you seat Captain Hook and his companion in a free both?" He lowered his voice so none but Shiro heard him. "Somewhere he won't cause trouble would be preferable."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Shiro mock saluted to Caelum as if he were really in the army. He turned and bowed at the waist to Captain Hook, grinning. "Right this way, Your Hookliness. Let's find you a good seat to watch the show."

"That's better." Captain Hook grinned at the service he received. "See to it this doesn't happen again. You're lucky I'm in a forgiving sort of mood."

"Yes, sir," Caelum replied, politely. Though, he was rolling his eyes in his mind. 'Forgiving sort of mood,' indeed.

The pirate captain nodded. He and Smee moved to follow Shiro out into the show room.

"Have I ever said how much I love you, Caelum?" Max sighed.

"This is the first time I've heard it." Caelum would have laughed at Max's declaration but was too stressed. "What happened? I thought you said you could handle this job?"

"I can! But, since the show started the computer's been acting weird." Max hit the side of the computer monitor situated on the desk in pure frustration. "Every time I search for reservations or guests, it doesn't show up or it says they were already seated when they weren't. If it weren't for the confirmation log of who made reservations at what time the usual reservation clerk made, I would have thought they were lying."

Caelum frowned. There was something wrong with the computer? He moved behind the desk to take a look at the computer himself. He did so once Max moved aside for him and gazed at the screen that held a complete list of the reservations made for the day. Scrolling through the list, his frown deepened at what he saw.

_That's weird. The people who showed up early are shown to have cancelled and the late guests are already seated,_ he thought, perplexed. He knew which guests were already there before the show started where he saw them in their seats during a pre-show check. So, they couldn't have cancelled. That meant either Max made a big mistake (which didn't seem likely) or there was something wrong with the computer. The latter was the more likely case.

"I think we shouldn't use the computer for now," Caelum decided. He shut down the computer and began looks through the files piled on the desk. "Do you have the hard copy of the reservation list?"

"There's a hard copy?" Max echoed, blinking.

"Yes, there is. Did no one read their job notes?"

"I did! Kind of…" The knight shrank under Caelum's accusing glare. "Okay, I skimmed it! I've seen Daisy do her job before and didn't think I needed anymore help."

Caelum almost raised his hand to hit Max upside the head until he remembered this wasn't Arun. That may have been an answer that Arun would give, but that was no excuse to hit his more complacent friend. He refocused his energy in pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Give me your job notes. And _please_ tell me you have that, at the very least."

Max nodded sheepishly. He reached into his slack's pockets to pull out a folded sheet of paper made into a square. He handed it over to Caelum. The mage unfolded it, skimmed its contents, and found out what he was looking for.

He reached out to pull out a drawer. Within the drawer was a manila folder, which he picked up to find a list of reservations for that night. And behind that was a seating chart of where they were to go.

"Here. Use this to get everyone seated and seated in _the right place,_" Caelum emphasized, handing the folder to Max. He knew some of the guests would not enjoy being placed near certain people. That's what the whole seating chart was for and what the usual clerk anticipated.

"Okay, got it." Max rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "You know, I'd be mad you were ordering us around like you owned the place. But, I have to admit at least someone with a level head is in charge. Arun and I would probably panic.

"You'd be lost without me, I'm sure," Caelum chuckled. He was used to taking charge when it was needed. Arun would panic before coming up with an idea while Arty would scramble to fix her mistakes. He was the one who would keep a cool head and calmly tell his friends what to do. This was nothing new. "Now make sure you don't have any more issues tonight."

"I'll try, but no promises."

Max turned to the next guest who waited patiently compared to Hook. Then again, it was a young Chinese woman. On her shoulder was a tiny red dragon that _did_ complain. The woman just shushed him.

Caelum left Max to his work and returned to the backstage area. Cutting through the show room, he found most of the guests were watching the cartoon and laughed at Pluto's plight. It really was amused to watch King Mickey's dog struggle to do the simple, daily task of retrieving the newspaper.

It struck him once again about how incredible it was for people from all over the worlds to gather and put aside their differences to enjoy a night of fun entertainment. A night of peace for those who needed some vacation from the pressures of daily life and the Heartless was just amazing. Caelum wished he had known that earlier so he could have gotten Arty to relax. Maybe she would have taken Arun's death a lot better if she had.

_I wonder if we can bring her here sometime,_ Caelum thought, hurrying backstage. The cartoon looked to be wrapping up. He needed to get his clipboard to find out what was next on the schedule. He wondered if everything was over and done, they could get Arty and visit the House of Mouse on a regular night. _She might like a night of fun. Light knows she needs it._

They all needed it. But, it didn't seem to be over anytime soon. Not by a long shot.


End file.
